A Happy Accident
by Kender20
Summary: Crisis Core Oneshot. Months after the death of his mentor, Zack invites Cloud over to have him give a haircut. During the process, the two of them begin to open up and they start getting to know each other, which soon leads to something rather unexpected. My take on how Zack got his new hairstyle.


Note: Hello out there! To those of you who don't know me, I am Kender20. Usually I am best known around here for m Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics, but recently I have rekindled a love for the Final Fantasy VII universe, especially after bearing witness to Crisis Core and news of a real Final Fantasy VII remake! This is the very first fanfic I have ever made that is not from the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, and I hope I did the FFVII proud. It's a friendship one shot that took place during Crisis Core, involving Zack Fair and Cloud Strife. Just to let you know, I'm a total fan of CloTi and Zerith, though I can enjoy the occasional Clerith now and then. Well, anyway, Enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or its sister games. And you know what? I'M GLAD I DON'T!

 **A Happy Accident**

It has been a few months since the death of Angeal Hewley, one of the three legendary Generals of SOLDIER. Zack had to admit, the first seven days had been absolute hell for him. Angeal was more than a mentor to him… he was the closest thing he ever had to a father.

And it was by his _**own hand**_ that he died.

Overwhelmed with sorrow and regret, he distanced himself from his fellow SOLDIERS, which was highly uncharacteristic of his usually sunny demeanor. That lasted until finally, Cloud, the young infantryman Zack met in Modeoheim, made the suggestion that he go over to a peaceful place to release those bottled up emotions. Immediately, Aerith came to mind, so the young First traveled over to the church in the slums. The young flower girl seemed to know exactly what happened, even though she was not around to see it. It was at the very mention of Angeal's name that Zack finally broke down… and wept. As it soon became clear that her attempt at casual conversation wasn't working, she did the only thing she could think of to ease the pain of the man she loved.

She reached out to him from behind and embraced him. And it was **exactly** what he needed.

After that, things slowly started to get better. He still had yet to forgive himself for his role in Angeal's death, but little by little he was starting to find the courage to smile again. Yes, it had been a few months now. And Zack was thankful for every moment of them. He had since returned to his duties in SOLDIER, performing them as best as he could. Even so, he spent as much time with the people he loved whenever he had the chance to do so. And of those people, two of them stood out. The young First had realized that he was truly, madly, deeply in love with Aerith and would visit her at the church more often now. And when he's _**not**_ spending time with Aerith, more often than not he's spending time with Cloud.

Cloud. That shy infantryman with spiky blonde hair, who shares the same backwater origins as himself. Zack couldn't help but smile as he stood outside the entrance of the Shinra building. It was because of **him** that the heavy weight of guilt and grief was finally starting to lift away from his shoulders. He just couldn't thank him enough! While the young First was caught up in his thoughts, a familiar figure stepped forward.

"Hello Zack, uh, Sir." Cloud greeted rather timidly, a small smile on his own lips.

Zack looked up and his smile grew brighter. "Yo Cloud, what's up!" The two boys exchanged a nice fist bump before the young First continued. "No need to be so formal! We're both off duty after all."

"I guess you have a point." Cloud replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Your hair has gotten much longer since the last mission we had together."

Zack ran his fingers through his raven black locks. It was true. His hair really had gotten longer during the past few months. Heck, even his bangs were starting to hang over his eyes a bit. But he had conjured up a good plan to tame those lock before they got too wild. And that good plan involved his new friend. "That's easy to fix." Zack finally replied, "So, you wanna check out my apartment?"

"Are you sure?" Cloud stated, amazed at the invitation.

"Absolutely!" Zack answered with a grin, "Besides, I think it's about time you I showed you where I live."

* * *

As soon as the young First opened the door, Cloud couldn't help but gaze at the new surroundings in amazed fascination. It was nothing like what he imagined the abode of a SOLDIER First Class would be. "Here we are," Zack stated, "Welcome to my place! Make yourself at home!"

"Wow…" Cloud gasped. " _ **This**_ is where you live?"

"Yep." Zack replied, before he noticed the look of wonder in the eyes of the blonde infantryman. "You seem kinda starstruck."

"Well," Cloud murmured with a smile, "I didn't expect the living quarters of a SOLDIER First Class to look so… down to earth! Like the house of a normal kid!"

The young First put his hands behind his head. "Hey, in spite of the Mako infusion, we SOLDIERs are still human." There was a small hint of sadness in those words, and it didn't take long for Cloud notice.

"Still thinking about… him?"

Zack let out a sigh. "He kept saying that he was a monster… but I know he's wrong."

The blonde infantryman nodded silently. He had met Angeal only once himself, in Modeoheim, right before Zack's heart wrenching battle. Prior to that fateful battle, the General had attacked him and Tseng after a brief conversation; Cloud managed to recover from the attack just in time to see the equally heartbreaking aftermath. To see the young raven haired SOLDIER standing there in front of his mentor's corpse, so utterly broken like that… it was enough to break his heart as well.

Apparently, Zack was also deep in thought concerning those events, for he shook his head as though to bring himself back to the present. "Anyway… wanna check out my room?"

"Sure!" Cloud replied, his expression hinting quiet excitement.

Upon arriving at the bed room in question, the blonde infantryman couldn't help but stare in amazement. A bed tangled in unmade sheets, posters of movies and heroes, a handheld game and a computer resting on an equally messy desk… Yep, it was just like the bedroom of any teenage boy his age! "Well, here's where I go crash for the night." Zack explained with a hint of pride, "What do think?"

"Wow, Zack!" Cloud gasped, "It's so… so amazing!"

Smirking playfully, the young First decided to change the subject; his hair, once again, had got in the way of his eyes, reminding him of the main reason of this little get-together. Brushing his bangs from his eyes, he walked toward the shelf, taking out a small mirror shard and a pair of scissors. Cloud looked on in curiosity.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"Well," Zack replied, snipping the scissors, "I figured that this is a good time to get my hair trimmed a bit." He locked the blonde infantryman in a playful gaze. "And I can think of no better person to help me with this endeavor than you Cloud."

"M-me?!" Cloud stuttered in surprise.

"Yeah! You did a few haircuts on yourself before, haven't you?"

"W-well yeah, but-" Now the blonde infantryman was growing nervous. He had never given anyone else a haircut before in his life!

"Don't worry, Cloud." Zack reassured, "It's just a little trim around the edges. You'll do fine!"

Cloud hesitated a bit. How could his SOLDIER friend hold such confidence in a mere cadet like him? Does he really trust him that much? Finally, he swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay…"

The young First handed the scissors over to his nervous friend before sitting on his bed, his back facing the blonde infantryman. "Come over here," Zack encouraged, adjusting himself so he would sit cross-legged, "just a little off the edges."

"Um, sure." Cloud answered and joined him on the bed, kneeling. Taking deep breaths to try and calm himself, he slowly drew the blades of the scissors to some raven locks and began to snip off the excess. Cloud let out a sigh of relief, seeing how he made a clean cut in spite of trembling fingers. Continuing with his work, he gave a small smile to his new friend. There was something about the young First that made him want to open up to him. "You know Zack, I'm sure there must be a lot of people here that call you a friend. Is there anyone in this world that **doesn't** like you? I mean, aside from the obvious enemies?"

Zack frowned, as a few childhood memories came to the surface. "Well, actually, there is this one kid I knew back in Gongaga: a village bully whose name I'd rather not mention."

"Really?" Cloud stated in surprise.

"Really."

"Whoa, so he must have been _**that**_ bad if you refused to give his name, huh?"

"Yep." Zack answered, "He picked on a lot of kids back in the day, myself included. Now, I can't stand bullies of any sort, but this guy was downright cruel! Just thinking about the things he did… it makes me so angry!" He clenched his fists at the memory. "One boy in the village was so badly tormented by the guy that he actually committed suicide, and even then the bastard showed no sign of remorse." The young First's lips curled into a smirk. "That's one of the reasons that I got into a lot of fights with him, so I can protect those who can't defend themselves from his reign of terror."

"Did you get in trouble with the elders?" Cloud asked.

Zack chuckled. "Yeah, but believe me, it was worth it every time! The other kids looked upon me as a hero since I had the courage to fight back against the brute on their behalf." His mako eyes blinked as they grew thoughtful. "Maybe that's what started it. My dream of becoming a hero… and SOLDIER made that dream even stronger."

"And that's when you decided you wanted to be in SOLDIER?"

"You might say that. But my mom and dad wanted me to have nothing to do with SOLDIER." A sigh escaped his lips. "Now don't get me wrong, Cloud. I love my parents, and they love me. It's just that they hate Shinra for some reason. So when I was old enough to do so, I ran away from home to follow my dream."

"Ran away?!" Cloud gasped.

Zack nodded. "Yep, you got it! Oh, and don't worry about the bully. He was already long gone by the time I left."

Cloud stared thoughtfully as he continued snipping at his friend's hair. "I'm sure all your friends in Gongaga really miss you."

"They sure do. I still think of them occasionally." Zack answered, "Hey, I bet your friends in Nibelheim miss you too."

It was then that Cloud lowered his eyes in sorrow. "I don't have any friends."

Zack's smile faded, and soon there was a look of concern. Now that was something he didn't expect to hear. "You don't?"

Cloud shook his head. "My father died when I was little, so I lived with my mother. The other kids in the village didn't want to play with me, and wouldn't let me join in with their groups. I still don't know why. Maybe it was because I was so weak. In any case, I took up a kind of superiority complex for a time as a way to deal with the loneliness. As I got older I started getting into a lot of fights with the other kids. In spite of all that, though, there is one person I **do** like. You might say that the two of us are friends, and I would like to agree with you. But the problem is, well… we're not exactly as close as I would like us to be."

Zack listened to the tale in awe. "Oh… I-I'm so sorry!"

"There's no need to apologize."

"But I must!" Zack insisted, "I… I can't imagine that a nice guy like you would be so sad and lonely growing up! And you call yourself _**weak**_?! You're one of the strongest people I know!"

"That's one of the reasons I want to join SOLDIER so badly." Cloud explained. "I want to become stronger. It's the same reason I admire Sephiroth." He began to smile as he watched the trimmings of black hair fall on the bed. "But you know what Zack? I'm starting to admire _**you**_ even more. Sure, you're SOLDIER First Class. But more than that, you're the first real friend I ever have. True, I had a lot of good acquaintances among the infantry, but most of them die in battle before we have a chance to make a strong connection like the one we share, you know?"

That was enough to restore Zack's smile. "I'm glad you think of me that way, because you've done so much for me since that day in Modeoheim. When I was still sad about Angeal's death and I was keeping everyone at a distance, you were the one who told me to go somewhere to release the tears I've been holding back. Because of you, I'm finding the courage to smile again. You're a real life saver here!"

"Thanks Zack." Cloud answered, "That really mean a lot to-"

 _Snip!_

Cloud let out a sharp gasp of horror as the bangs from the left side of Zack's face fell into a messy heap nearby. Apparently, the blonde infantryman was so caught up in his conversation that he wasn't paying attention to where he was directing the path of the scissors. He was panicking now and tears started welling up in his eyes. For all he knew, he had just ruined his friend's hair! "Oh! Oh no! Oh Zack, I'm so sorry!"

"H-hey, calm down will you?!" Zack stated reassuringly, talking hold of Cloud's wrists and shoulders to keep him still. Once the blonde infantryman had relaxed, the young First took the mirror to inspect the "damage". It was an interesting sight: the left side of his face was now fully exposed, displaying the scar on his cheek for all to see. Cloud looked onward, worried that his "client" would turn around and yell at him, full of fury over the foolish mistake he had made. But as Zack examined the overall look, a smile crept onto his face, taking the young infantryman by surprise. "You know Cloud?" Zack finally stated, "I think you just gave me an idea!"

"I-I did?" Cloud stuttered in astonished confusion.

The young First weaved two of his fingers into the bangs on the right side of his face, so that he held back a couple of strands of hair, leaving the rest of the thick bangs open over his hand. "You mind cutting these off?" he asked, pointing to the bangs in question.

"Wha?!" Cloud gasped in shock, "Are you sure about this?!"

"Absolutely!" Zack encouraged.

Recovering a bit from the initial shock, Cloud finally muttered, "O-okay." Nervously, he took the scissors and slowly cut off the bangs, watching them drop, strand by strand, near his friend's right knee.

"That's good." Zack stated once the task was done, and he let his fingers slip over the hair that was left. Once more, he looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw reflected back at him was a thing of beauty: The strands of hair that were all that remained of his bangs hung in an aesthetically pleasing sort of way, actually enhancing the edgy look of the new hairstyle he now sported. He let out a satisfying whistle. "Damn, now **that** looks cool!"

Cloud blinked with wide eyes, unable to believe what had he had just heard. "You _like_ it?"

The young First turned toward his friend. "Like it? _**I love it!**_ I think I should style my hair this way from now on! Heck, it makes even the scar on my cheek look badass!"

Cloud let out a heavy sigh of relief, seeing how happy Zack was with the unexpected results. _A happy accident,_ he thought, _How fitting!_ Then something dawned on him. "Your mentor, Angeal… he was the one who gave you that scar, wasn't he?"

At that, Zack smile grew sad, as he thought back to the scar's origin.

Cloud decided to speak up again. "You know… before you came and faced him, he told me that you are the only one who can beat him. I asked him why."

After a pause, Zack queried, "What was his answer?"

The blonde infantryman gave a small smile. "You are… his living legacy. That's what he said to me before he knocked me over."

At that reply, Zack became more thoughtful. "His living legacy, huh?" The smile grew serene. "That's something I can think on… Yeah… I like the sound of it."

The thought would continue to swim for quite some time before it finally sunk in. And when that happened, he was more than determined to do Angeal proud and carry on his legacy of dreams and honor.

And he had Cloud to thank for that.

Note: And there you have it! After this nice accomplishment, I think I might write some more Final Fantasy VII fics as I keep on working on my Yu-Gi-Oh fics. I sure hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Until Next Time!


End file.
